Treasure
Date: February 21, 2021
Preacher: Rev. Nathan Hill
Scripture: Matthew 8:1-4, 16-17
We human beings are born in fragile, limited bodies. Sometimes, our bodies grow weary and weaken for no fault of our owns. Some of us have different abilities. Walter Wilson, in his book Healing in the Gospel of Matthew, suggests that we humans all exist along a continuum of “ability and disability”. This is normal. This is the reality of our bodies and circumstances of life.
Jesus’ healing sometimes changes those circumstances and offers strength to our bodies, but more often, Wilson writes, “the bodies of those healed… are marked by the power of the divine to create new life out of hopelessness.”
Some considered leprosy, in the ancient world at least, a living death. Unable to be touched by those you loved. Unable to be integrated into society. Unable to work and produce.
In Jesus’ healing, that hopeless situation turned to new life. With a touch.